ON THE FRONTLINES | April 2025 Newsletter

On the frontlines is our monthly newsletter section covering the activities of BirdLife Malta’s conservation, policy and nature reserve (Salina, Simar, Għadira and Foresta 2000) teams, together with an update about rare and scarce bird species observed. Local volunteers for Spring Watch In April, hunters will be able to hunt the European Turtle-dove (Gamiema) and…
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ON THE FRONTLINES | March 2025 Newsletter

On the frontlines is our monthly newsletter section covering the activities of BirdLife Malta’s conservation, policy and nature reserve (Salina, Simar, Għadira and Foresta 2000) teams, together with an update about rare and scarce bird species observed. World Wetland Day & Ghadira Bird releases  World Wetlands Day is observed every year in February to raise…
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National quota of 1,500 Turtle-doves has already been reached illegally

The hunting season for Turtle-doves has not yet opened, but the national quota of 1,500 Turtle-doves has already been illegally reached. This is based on footage and observations made by BirdLife Malta’s Spring Watch teams, who have seen over 80% of hunters active in recent days illegally targeting Turtle-doves, despite the hunting period from 14–20…
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No law, No surveillance, No data: 2025 spring hunting season opens amid unregulated trapping and daily illegalities

Rampant illegal hunting ahead of season amid lack of enforcement and transparency Illegal hunting of Turtle-doves has been recorded daily in past days despite the official spring hunting season for this species not yet being open. Since the start of BirdLife Malta’s Spring Watch on 10th April, teams have documented daily cases with shots being…
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